College Hockey:

Michigan State’s Chad Alban became just the fourth netminder in collegiate history to tally a goal Saturday night, scoring into an empty net in the Spartans’ 6-3 win over Ferris State.

On the play, Alban collected the puck in the corner to the right of Michigan State’s goal and fired a 180-foot shot which bounded into left half of the Bulldog net at 19:47 of the third period.

Alban is believed to be just the second college netminder to score off a deliberate try, and the first to do so in an NCAA contest. The other, Maine’s Jim Tortorella, shot a puck against Vasby of Sweden in 1980 which was mishandled by the Vasby keeper for a goal.

Michigan Tech’s Damian Rhodes (1989) and Vermont’s Andrew Allen (earlier this season) have also been credited with goals — Rhodes as the last MTU player to touch the puck before a Colorado College player put it into his own goal, and Allen on a tip of a Harvard pass from behind the Vermont net which then sailed all the way down-ice.

Saturday night, Alban also had the single assist on Michigan State’s third goal. The senior netminder now has one goal and nine assists in his four-year career.

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